Tributes to Sir Winston Churchill

The House of Commons

The House of Commons, all controversy stilled for a brief period, united to pay tribute to Sir Winston Churchill. It was a solemn and a sad occasion – 'simple in its brevity, moving in it’s simplicity'. A message from the Queen, four speeches, a formal motion passed without dissent and it was over.

If some of the speeches failed to match the greatness of their subject then it merely proved the sad truth voiced by Mr. Grimond that, "the high horse of political oratory has been riderless since his departure."

Two of Sir Winston’s daughters, Lady Audley and Mrs. Christopher Soames and two of his grandchildren, Mr. Winston Churchill and Miss Celia Sandys looked on as Mr. Wilson delivered an eloquent and emotive tribute.

Sir Harold Wilson in his tribute said Sir Winston had not been the possession of any one of the political parties, that he had at one time or another been the target of more,’parliamentary invective’, than another other member of the parliamentary age. He went on to remind us of "that rare ability to call out from those who heard him the sense that they were a necessary part of something greater than themselves …the ability which runs like a golden thread through our national history, to inspire a sleeping nation so that it can call up those inner reserves of effort and character which have never failed us when our very survival has been at stake."

The United States

Although there was controversy over decisions and delays regarding the representatives attending the funeral, the United States paid homage to Sir Winston Churchill at a Memorial service in the Washington National Cathedral, Friday, January 29th. It was suggested by a journalist for The Times, 'no one would have been more touched than he by the strong Anglo-American flavour of the Service, or more roused by the grandeur of the two national anthems played by a scarlet-coated band of the United States Marines'.

The text of Mr. Adlai Stevenson began as follows:

"Today we meet in sadness to mourn one of the world’s greatest citizens. Sir Winston Churchill is dead. The voice that led nations, raised armies, inspired victories and blew fresh courage into the hearts of men is silenced. We shall hear no longer the remembered eloquence and wit, the old courage and defiance, the robust serenity of indomitable faith. Our world is thus poorer, our political dialogue is diminished and the sources of public inspiration run more thinly for all of us. There is a lonesome place against the sky."

"So we are right to mourn. Yet, in contemplating the life and spirit of Winston Churchill, regrets for the past seem singularly insufficient. One rather feels a sense of thankfulness and encouragement that throughout so long a life, such a full measure of power, virtuosity, mastery and zest played over our human scene."

Former U.S. President, General Dwight Eisenhower spoke as a wartime colleague and personal friend. The BBC broadcast his words as ‘Havengore’ made her way to Festival Hall Pier.

"Upon the mighty Thames, a great avenue of history, move at this moment to their final resting place the mortal remains of Sir Winston Churchill. He was a great maker of history, but his work done, the record closed, we can almost hear him, with the poet, say:

'Sunset and Evening Star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning
of the bar.
When I put out to sea...
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no
sadness of farewell When I embark...'"
The Commonwealth.

Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia and pallbearer also accepted an invitation from the B.B.C. to take part in the televising of the funeral. He spoke from the crypt of St. Paul’s after the service on behalf of the Commonwealth and as a personal friend of Sir Winston.

A very kind and down to earth speech, Sir Robert spoke to and for the public, "I'm sure most of you have thought about Sir Winston Churchill a great deal and with warmth in your hearts and in your recollections."

He spoke with great regard to Mrs. Churchill and sent heartfelt condolences.
"Could I today send her your love and mine? She has suffered an irreparable personal loss, but she has proud and enduring memories, happy memories I venture to say. We share her sorrow, but I know she would wish us to share those rich remembrances that the thought of the great evokes."

In conclusion, he returned, as did so many thoughts, to Sir Winston and the gratitude and appreciation felt in every heart.

"The body of Winston Churchill goes in procession through the streets of London, his London, our London, this most historic city, this ancient home of freedom, this place through which in the very devastation and fire of war, his voice rang with courage and defiance and hope and rugged confidence, his body will be carried on the Thames, a river full of history. With one heart we all feel, with one mind we all acknowledge that it will never have borne a more precious burden or been enriched by more splendid memories." The

Times offered wonderful coverage:

In all the controversy and tumult of his public life he did not lose the power to raise himself to a plane where he became the embodiment of the nation’s common heritage and common purpose.

He once said, "We cannot say the past is past without surrendering the future". So today the ‘past’ of his life and his achievement are a guide and light to the future. And we can only properly mourn and celebrate this mighty man by heeding him as a living influence in the unfolding dramas of our days ahead.

The affection and high regard the Authority had for Churchill shine from the articles of the PLA Monthly. Telling of the historical role of the nations, ‘most vital lifeline’ the publication recalled, "The solemn River Procession which brought Nelson from Greenwich on his last voyage to be buried in St. Paul’s….. the men who sailed to Virginia from Blackwall in 1606 to lay the first foundations of the American nation, the land that nurtured the Mother of this great Englishman now being laid to rest.

. . A more remote echo drifted back over the years – from Tilbury Fort where the English sovereign herself defied the enemy in an equally famous address to her people when the Armada threatened the realm. And another historical parallel suggested itself – the bold buccaneering spirit of Churchill inevitably invited the memory of Sir Francis Drake, the swashbuckling Elizabethan knighted on the deck of his own ship for his services to the Nation."

Regarding the details of the river voyage, the PLA Monthly noted…

"Many have said that this last ceremonial at Tower Pier was one of the most moving parts of the whole great occasion and this perhaps was the reason.

Whilst the inspiring Englishman loved by all men was still in the streets of London, he was somehow still with them. But the departure from Tower Pier had an air of irrevocability, of utter finality. This was the moment of desolation, the time when all realised that the last ceremonials were being enacted, the last salutes made and the final departure near. The coffin was carried aboard the Havengore and gently laid on the bier and the Naval piping party piped him away. Lines were cast off and to the rousing notes of Rule Britannia the Havengore sailed away with the mortal remains of the most important VIP she has ever carried or is ever likely to carry.

Behind, with other family mourners, was the PLA launch Thames. Ahead was the Trinity House vessel with the Elder Brethren paying their last respects to the most famous of all Elder Brethren. The solemn precession moved upstream with the quiet grace of swans and faded into the distance and slight haze. Churchill had gone.

There are a few moments in the lives of ordinary men when they feel in the very presence of history. Such was the atmosphere at Tower Pier on Saturday January 30th, 1965."

National tributes included:

Big Ben remained silent from 9:45am on the day of the funeral – the time at which the procession left Westminster Hall – until Midnight.

At the command of the Queen, flags on public buildings were flown at half-mast until sunset on January 30th.

Trinity House, of which Sir Winston was an Elder Brother, issued instructions by radio to all lightships to fly the Trinity House flag at half-mast.

Many social and public events were cancelled as a mark of respect. A national day of mourning was suggested but after serious consideration the Earl Marshall decided Sir Winston would expect each person to remember what and when according to his/her own wishes and needs.